Deadly Little Secret (Touch Series #1) [NOOK Book]

Overview

A supernatural romance about a 16-year old girl's attraction to the hunky, but mysterious new guy in school, whose touch has very unnerving effects -- from the author of the bestselling Blue is for Nightmares series.

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This Book

Overview

A supernatural romance about a 16-year old girl's attraction to the hunky, but mysterious new guy in school, whose touch has very unnerving effects -- from the author of the bestselling Blue is for Nightmares series.

Editorial Reviews

KLIATT
- Aimee Cole

It all begins with a near-death accident. A mysterious boy saves Camelia from an out-of-control car in the school parking lot, and then speeds off on his motorcycle before she can thank him. She is left wondering who he is. Her friends think she's overreacting, or that she needs a boyfriend, or that she should forget him. But when Ben Carter starts school in the fall, she's interested in him. Best friend Kimmie may think that she should go back to her ex-boyfriend and good friend Matt, but Camelia can't shake the feeling that Ben is special, even if he was with his girlfriend the night she died. Scattered throughout the story are what seem to be journal entries of a boy watching Camelia. He's obviously fallen for her, but he's lying low. He is willing to do whatever it takes to get Camelia to notice him and keep her away from everyone else. From Camelia's point of view, life is increasingly more disturbing. Someone is leaving her gifts, calling her on the phone, pounding on her door, and breaking into her room. Camelia needs to know who to trust before it is too late. This is an engaging, eerie tale about the darker side of relationships—when it becomes a matter of life and death to know who your friends are. Reviewer: Aimee Cole

Kirkus Reviews

The prolific Stolarz (Blue is for Nightmares, 2003, etc.) here launches the new Touch series. Three months ago a handsome boy saved Camelia's life; now he's enrolled at her school, followed by rumors that he killed his girlfriend. As if that's not excitement enough, Camelia seems to have attracted a secret admirer, and her lively first-person narrative is interrupted by passages from the perspective of this prospective suitor. Is it new boy Ben? Jock John? Ex-boyfriend Matt? Or even Camelia's young boss at the pottery studio and shop? Whoever he is, he's determined to win Camelia at any cost, and the tension ratchets up until the action-packed ending. Meanwhile, Ben reveals his ability to sense the future through touch, a power he only partially controls and which failed to save his ex. Camelia can't help being drawn to Ben even when he warns her to stay away. CW-worthy dialogue, quirky secondary characters, romance and suspense: a winning combination. (Paranormal romance. 13 & up)

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Meet the Author

Laurie Faria Stolarz is the author of Deadly Little Secret and Bleed, as well as the highly popular young adult novels Blue Is for Nightmares, White Is for Magic, Silver Is for Secrets, and Red Is for Remembrance. Born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts, Stolarz attended Merrimack College and received an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College in Boston. For more information, please visit her Web site at www.lauriestolarz.com.

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Just a spin of Twilight

This book was a light and easy read. I finished it in about four hours. The writing was okay, and so were the characters, but I could not help seeing a strong resemblance to twilight.
The first chapter is our main character being saved from being hit by a car by a mysterious guy. Then this guy ignores the main character. Of course, this guy is an outcast and there are rumors about him. Then, they start to talk and become friendly. The guy reveals his secret 'powers' to the main character, and they begin like each other more. His powers/abilities interfere with their relationship. He wants to break it off because he might hurt her. Then the main character is put in danger by someone else. Eventually she is kidnapped, and the guy comes to rescue her. Sound familiar?
Many books these days seem to follow that same format. This book was okay, but it lacked originality and it never had me really interested.

36 out of 67 people found this review helpful.

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Reviewed by May A. for TeensReadToo.com

Three months ago, Camelia's life was saved by a mysterious boy. She doesn't see him again, until the first day of her junior year. His name is Ben Carter and everybody in school claims that he killed his girlfriend. Camelia doesn't know who or what to believe, but she does know one thing -- she is irresistibly drawn to him and his touch. <BR/><BR/>But shortly after Ben's sudden appearance in her life, Camelia begins receiving chilling phone calls, various packages, and strange notes. Ben insists that her life is in grave danger and tells Camelia that he can help. Camelia is wary about his offer, especially with Ben's mysterious behavior and the new rumors buzzing around school involving him. <BR/><BR/>Can she trust the new and handsome boy with the so-called "shady" past? <BR/><BR/>DEADLY LITTLE SECRET, just like I suspected, did not disappoint. The book was amazing and an excellent start to the new TOUCH series by Laurie Faria Stolarz (author of the BLUE IS FOR NIGHTMARES series). The plot was mesmerizing; it kept me guessing who it was that posed a threat to Camelia's life. <BR/><BR/>I loved reading about Camelia and her friends. Kimmie and Wess were a blast. I enjoyed the constant witty banter exchanged between them and their very distinct personalities. There were numerous laugh-out-loud moments whenever the trio were together. I really loved Ben's abilities, which gave him substance. Ben and Camelia's relationship was very compelling, making you fall in love with them both. <BR/><BR/>The book was full of shocking surprises and revelations, earning the book five stars. This is a must-read for fans of romance, suspense, and mystery because it won't disappoint.

21 out of 22 people found this review helpful.

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This is NOT a Twilight rip off. Give it a chance.

It took me a long time to read this book, mainly because I read some reviews that said it was a Twilight rip-off. So not the case. The only two things that are even close is the girl almost gets hit by a car and the mystery guy is in her science class. Big freaking deal. The story is over all pretty good. It keeps you guessing about the bad guy throughout the entire book, which I liked. All too often I read a book and figure out what is going to happen within the first quarter of it. This book always had me second guessing my guesses though. The ending wasn't as climatic as I had hoped for. I was guessing after all that build up there would be a bigger, scarier and alltogether more emotional ending. I am about to start the second book and I am hoping that gives more insight to Ben's character to help me better understand everything that happend in the first book.

15 out of 17 people found this review helpful.

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bookjunkie23

Posted April 23, 2010

AWESOME! and nothing like Twilight

SO i started reading this book after spending some time checking out the reviews. Many people claim its a knock off on Twilight, but its NOTHING like it. Completely different plot, characters, etc. This book was great and as soon as i finished it, i rushed to get the second.

10 out of 10 people found this review helpful.

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Mysterious and Edgy

Camelia's always played life safe. Her friends even tease her about acting older than her age.

Then the unsafe happens. Camelia's life is narrowly saved by a mysterious boy whose touch is strangely...alluring. He's nowhere to be found after the accident, but Camelia can't seem to forget him.
When Ben arrives at Camelia's school, she instantly recognizes him as the boy who saved her life. But no one else believes he's the saving type; rumors are circulating about Ben having killed his past girlfriend. Camelia overlooks her classmates' warnings and is drawn closer to Ben and his irresistible touch. The closer she gets, though, the more dangerous her life becomes.

A stalker is leaving her threatening notes and messages. Ben wants Camelia's trust, but how can she give anyone trust in a time like this?

I remember noticing Stolarz's Nightmares series in a bookstore a few years ago and thinking about how great the books sounded. But I never actually got a chance to read the series. When I found out about Stolarz's new Touch novels, I was really excited to have another chance at reading one of her series.

Deadly Little Secret starts off the Touch books with a bang. First, let me describe the gorgeous cover. I know it looks good in the Internet pictures, but it's even better in real life. I love the old-fashioned undertone. The color scheme is eerie but pretty, much like the story itself. This has got to be one of my favorite covers of the year.

What's inside the book holds it's own to the cover. The suspense builds up gradually throughout the novel. I loved the stalker's journal entries. They actually started out kind of sweet and normal but grew increasingly disturbing as the novel progressed. If someone had written the first entry about me, I probably would've been flattered. But with the next few, I would've been completely sketched out and by the end, freaked out beyond imagination. This development of the antagonist really impressed me.

Camelia, our narrator, was truly likable. She has a really good heart, and it shows throughout the novel. I won't mention much about the male characters (I wouldn't want to rat out the stalker) except that the chemistry was really strong between Ben and Camelia. Wes and Kimmie, Camelia's quirky friends, were terrific and had great depth for secondary characters. I look forward to getting to know them better in the rest of the series (which I will definitely be reading). I can't wait for the next Touch book. I won't say who, but there's a certain male character I'm rooting for...

Overall, Deadly Little Secret was a very promising beginning. I see much potential for the Touch books, and have every intention of reading the entire series in the future. Fans of suspense, mystery, romance, paranormal...heck, fans of reading should love Deadly Little Secret.

Check out this fabulous book trailer of DLS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fzMpVMy2fQ

For those who'd like to get to know more about the author, here's her myspace:
www.myspace.com/lauriestolarz

~bella aire~

This was written first for the Not-So-Closet-Geek book review site: http://not-so-cg.blogspot.com

10 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted November 25, 2008

I Also Recommend:

OMG!!!! WHEN IS THE NEXT ONE!!!

this is one of the best books i have ever read. i loved it. it keeps you guessing throughout the whole book about everything. i loved the romance. the ending actually made me cry. i hope there is a sequal to it.

5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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A Page Turner But a Hollow Read....

Deadly Little Secrets was definitley an...interesting read. It kept me turning the pages, wanting to see Camelia's relationship with Ben develop and Who in the world was stalking and breaking into her room! You really can't put it down until you find out who her stalker is!I would get caught up in the moment as Camelia's heart would start to race and putter, andreanline and fear would pump into my veins as she would find the next note, and when Ben would accidentally, or on purpose sometimes, touch her...
NOW...That all said... I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped I would. Really! I wanted to like this book much more than I do. The cover was beautiful, with the pretty and simple image and the lovely contrast of the white lettering with the pale but strong colors was just eye candy that it instantly caught my eye, but... I just couldn't fully get into this book. The characters were flat, the relationship between Camelia and Ben was flat,and even the story fell flat at times, like a lot.
I couldn't really connect to any of the characters, except Camelia when she was in a hightened emotional state... and that was even very difficult.
I didn't understand, and still don't understand, Camelia's and Ben's relationship. I get he "touched her stomache" and for Camelia that's very intimate,it would be for me too, but there was something missing and lacking in the whole equation there. One minute they are ignoring each other and Ben's not "touching" her and the next minute it is like they are soulmates. It was very odd the way it happened and I was left feeling like I missed something...and I am usually very observant and pick up on things so...it really threw me.
I really liked the "idea" of the story: boy saves girl from near death experience,girl is kinda normal plain jane type, boy that saves her tries to stay away from said girl and he is deemed "dangerous", oh! and he is really sexy, and also has mysterious powers, and someone wants to kill the girl and "dangerous boy" feels obligated to save her, whilst using his "powers", and at the end he fells like he needs to stay away from her to protect her. - Wow, is it me, or does this sound like a really weird and not as good Twilight knock off?...- But it fell flat.
The whole climax of the story seemed rushed and not thought out very well and then about six pages after that it just ...ended. And even though there were many, and I mean many, possible stalkers introduced into the equation, your first guess,from the begnining, turned out to be the right one.I did like however how she intergrated Camelia's perspective one chapter and the Stalkers the next. It was really creative...and a little frightening.
By the end of this book I was ready to put it back on the shelf. I was left with just a "hollow", like said above, feeling. Once I closed the book I didn't think about the story and I didn't think about any of the characters.I felt no connection to this book, it was just bound pages covered in ink, with a REALLY pretty cover.
All in all, it's an...OK book. The characters and writting were to flat for me and the story lacked a lot,but having to find out who her stalker was kept me turning the pages, as well as the frightening stalker letters, and somehow hoping something interesting would happen between C and Ben.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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Good Book

I liked Deadly Little Secrets a lot- it was very good. It definitely keeps you guessing. A few chapters in I was positive that I knew who it was- but I was completely wrong. Not a big fan of the ending, but since it is part of a series, there must be more to come. I reccomend that people read this book.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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Mysteriously Awesome!

Secrets don't make friends, or do they? That seems to be the underlying question in this book. Camelia meets Ben, who definitely has secrets, and the two engage in a teeter totter, on-again off-again friendship. Ben's secrets might tear him away from Camelia, but not if Camelia's secret tears her away from Ben first.

I can't recall why or how I picked this book. I think I kept seeing it as a "other customers who enjoyed this item also enjoyed.." recommendation. It makes no difference if I can remember why or how I decided to buy this book, just that I bought it! Stolarz did a fabulous job! The story was completely engrossing. Camelia and Ben's characters were very well-written as were the secondary characters-specifically Wes and Kimmie, Camelia's riotous friends. Camelia's is artistic and thoughtful while Ben is mysteriously broken. The story is mainly told from Camelia's POV but throughout the book several journal entries are written by an unknown author. This unknown journal-writing author has dangerously hidden feelings and desires to display them. The fact that not only is Ben mysterious with unknown secrets, but there is another anonymous admirer of Camelia, had me eating this book up. I devoured this first book to find out Ben's past and present secrets all the while trying to figure out who the anonymous journal writer was. The entire book is nicely paced without dull or dragging parts.

Many reviews I read likened this book to Twilight. Yes, there are definite similarities but the differences outweigh the similarities by a long shot! I recommend not getting sucked into the belief that this book is like Twilight (I'm a huge Twi fan by the way). Enjoy this book as a separate entity-I know I sure did! Don't pass this one up!

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Bethany_Danielle

Posted April 26, 2010

Can't wait!

I've yet to read this book, but after reading a clip from offline I truly cannot wait to go out and buy it. It really seems you can't read any book without some crazy Twilight fan having something bad to say about it. The only thing I can see similar so far is the car seen, and the romance in it. I am honestly so sick and tired of hearing about Twilight. The book was good when it first came out, but was ruined when everyone became obsessed with it. This book really does seem to be great! I'm going out and buying it this weekend(:

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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lokyn

Posted April 5, 2010

Definitely Worth Reading (even if you have read Twilight)

I have read the entire Twilight series and I like this book a whole lot better. Although there are a few (3 give or take), it is a different book and is a thrilling story. I'm not really that big a fan of the vampire craze and it was nice to be able to read a teen novel without them. Don't let the comments by die-hard Twilight fans keep you from reading the book!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Maybe Better Than Twilight

This book is amazing and I enjoyed every page of it. I was hooked on the book from the very beginning, and I think that Laurie Stolarz did an amazing job at keeping the suspense in the book the whole way through. The characters each had different personalities that make the book even more interesting. And I can't wait for the next book in the Touch Series by Laurie Faria Stolarz called "Deadly Little Lies".(:

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Amazing!

Laurie Faria Stolarz is like, my idol. When I pass this book onto my friend on Monday, it'll be like giving away a prized possesion. <BR/>But, onto the book and off of my fangirling. <BR/>Stolarz revistits the realms of stalkers, extrasensory abilities, odd friends and pretty boys in Deadly Little Secret. It weaves a sense of a cliffhanger on the end of every chapter, and leads you to wonder who is the mysterious chicken-scratch writer, as well as who is to trust, and who isn't. <BR/>I finished this in 24-hours. It's amazing. Go read it, or I'll eat you. :E

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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CourtneyRaziano

Posted January 19, 2012

Deadly Little Secret Review

Camelia lives a very normal life. She has loving parents, two best friends, a good job, and pretty decent grades. Everything changes for her when she is almost killed in the parking lot at her high school on the last day of her sophomore year. A mysterious stranger saved her by pushing her out of the way. His touch is unforgettable, and Camelia can’t get his face and the feel of his amazing touch out of her mind. The problem is, he randomly disappeared after he saved her, which keeps her wondering who he may be. Three months later, at the beginning of her junior year, weird things start to happen. Camelia receives pictures of herself in her mailbox with little notes attached to them. Notes that say she being watched at all times, notes that tell her to be a good girl, and notes that say her time is coming soon. She also gets some phone calls from someone with a whispery, creepy male voice. Camelia is being stalked and, coincidentally, the guy that saved her enrolls at her school at the same time. A lot of rumors go around with Ben’s arrival. Apparently, he was accused of killing his girlfriend, and the people at Camelia’s school aren’t happy he is there. Camelia is drawn to Ben because of the connection she feels after he saved her, but Ben doesn’t make it easy to talk to him or get to know him. As she spends more time with Ben and the stalking escalates, Camelia doesn’t know who to trust anymore. Laurie Faria Stolarz has written a creepy mystery. The story is filled with misleading events to divert your attention from the main subject. As you are reading, you will be asking yourself, “Could it be him?”, or “Could it be her?” Throughout the chapters, the reader gets a glimpse into the mind of the stalker by seeing his handwritten journal entries. In these entries he obsesses about Camelia. This just adds to the creep factor of the story. If you are easily scared, I would tell you to read this book during the daytime. You might even want to make sure that other people are in the house with you. Be ready to become obsessed yourself. Once you start Deadly Little Secret you will not want to stop. Deadly Little Secret is the first in the Touch series. Look for Deadly Little Lies, which is the next book in the series. I know I sure will.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 15, 2012

Awesome

Well written! I thought Ben was the bad guy the whole time! =D

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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10615395

Posted July 10, 2011

Awesomeeee

Loved it, but if i tell you anything, i'd give away the story!!!!!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted November 18, 2010

A great who-done-it story, with a paranormal twist!

It starts out pretty normal, an average girl drawn to the new bad boy. Only this bad boy has a killer past, literally. Suddenly Camelia's life isn't so average. She starts getting creepy, stalker-ish letters and photos, that lead her to believe that maybe the new boy Ben is behind them. But nontheless she is drawn to him. As the story progresses, The messages start getting more violent, and she is warned by Ben that she is in danger. I won't ruin the suprise, but let's just say I didn't see it coming. It has an added paranormal twist that i wasn't expecting and genuinly kept me guessing to the end. The end was an obvious cliffhanger, and left me wanting more! I highly suggest this book to anyone looking for an edgy, exciting read. I will deffinately be reading the next books in the series.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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Lovely_Rose

Posted July 22, 2010

WOW!!!!

This book is really cool and shocking!!! I love how the author Laurie Stolarz explains every character and shows how Camelia and doesnt know who is stalking her and wants to kill her. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good edgey mystery story with some love and unforgetable love story:)

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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